Mark 15:1-25

Easy-to-Read Version

Governor Pilate Questions Jesus^(A)

15 Very early in the morning, the leading priests, the older Jewish leaders, the teachers of the law, and the whole high council decided what to do with Jesus. They tied him, led him away, and handed him over to Governor Pilate.

² Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus answered, “Yes, that is right.”

³ The leading priests accused Jesus of many things. ⁴ So Pilate asked Jesus another question. He said, “You can see that these people are accusing you of many things. Why don’t you answer?”

⁵ But Jesus still did not answer, and this really surprised Pilate.

Pilate Tries but Fails to Free Jesus^(B)

⁶ Every year at the Passover time the governor would free one prisoner—whichever one the people wanted. ⁷ There was a man in prison at that time named Barabbas. He and the rebels with him had been put in prison for committing murder during a riot.

⁸ The people came to Pilate and asked him to free a prisoner as he always did. ⁹ Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” ¹⁰ Pilate knew that the leading priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous of him. ¹¹ But the leading priests persuaded the people to ask Pilate to free Barabbas, not Jesus.

¹² Pilate asked the people again, “So what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”

¹³ The people shouted, “Kill him on a cross!”

¹⁴ Pilate asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?”

But the people shouted louder and louder, “Kill him on a cross!”

¹⁵ Pilate wanted to please the people, so he set Barabbas free for them. And he told the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he handed him over to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.

¹⁶ Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace (called the Praetorium). They called all the other soldiers together. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on Jesus, made a crown from thorny branches, and put it on his head. ¹⁸ Then they began shouting, “Welcome, king of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They kept on beating his head with a stick and spitting on him. Then they bowed down on their knees and pretended to honor him as a king. ²⁰ After they finished making fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him out of the palace to be killed on a cross.

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross^(C)

²¹ There was a man from Cyrene named Simon walking into the city from the fields. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. ²² They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means “The Place of the Skull.”) ²³ There they gave him some wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused to drink it. ²⁴ The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then they divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get what.

²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they nailed Jesus to the cross.